Nokia and Microsoft BOOSTED By Samsung LOSS and 4 HOT Stocks Making Moves

Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) sees its effective tax rate at 34 percent to 35 percent, and it intends to add a total of 28 Company-operated stores, which will include 13 in the Americas, eight in Asia-Pacific, two in Europe, and the beginning of operation of five stores in the United Arab Emirates, which will include 13 stores already added in the first half of the year.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:DTG) along with Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE:HTZ) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement beneath which Hertz would acquire Dollar Thrifty for $87.50 per share in cash in a transaction valued at a corporate enterprise value of about $2.3 billion. The boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved the transaction. Furthermore, Hertz announced that it reached an agreement to sell the Advantage business to Franchise Services of North America, or FSNA, and Macquarie Capital. The closing of that divestiture is conditioned upon, along with other things, Hertz’s completion of an acquisition of Dollar Thrifty. The combined company would possess improved leadership positions in important markets globally, with combined June 30, 2012 LTM sales totaling $10.2 billion and EBITDA of about $1.8 billion across about 10,000 locations globally. The company expects at least $160 million of annual cost synergies from the transaction, with additional sales growth opportunities. The transaction is structured as a two-step acquisition that includes a cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of Dollar Thrifty common stock followed by a cash merger in which Hertz would acquire any remaining outstanding shares of Dollar Thrifty common stock.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL): Samsung Electronics (SSNLF.PK), who was ordered by a U.S. jury to pay Apple more than $1 billion for infringing upon six mobile device patents, requested that a judge lift a ban on the U.S. sales of the Galaxy 10.1 tablet computer. The jury ruled that the Galaxy device did not infringe upon an Apple patent so the preliminary ban on its sale should be dissolved, Samsung stated in a court filing in federal court, Bloomberg reports.

AT&T (NYSE:T) AdWorks should launch an ad platform in September that would allow brands to target ads online based on TV and mobile data, stated Danielle Lee, AdWorks VP of product marketing and innovation. Two undisclosed brands have signed up to be included in the initial rollout. The AdWorks division worked with AT&T Labs in the development of an algorithm allowing brands to target audiences based on aggregate demographic data from TV programs watched or downloaded on apps, games and videos on mobile.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), in an attempt to raise their U.S. sales of smartphones, will probably be helped as Samsung Electronics (SSNLF.PK) products have to deal with a possible ban and handset makers are pressured to consider alternatives to Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android software, according to Bloomberg.